We
have all read about the "shortcomings" of George W. and how he may
have been put into office. I would like your opinion on why, what
is the real agenda and who are the people behind the effort it took
to do this? Without this knowledge we are powerless to stop the
ruination of out country. I fear for my sons and their children.

Thanks in advance,

Mike
Slidell (or what's left), LA

Dear Mike,

I'm glad you specified that you want Auntie's "opinion." Since
I'm not privy to the backroom conversations of Republican power
brokers, an opinion is all I can give.

First, you ask "why?" That's the easiest one to answer: power.
The Executive Branch of our Federal Government controls many aspects
of our lives through how it implements the laws Congress passes,
how it constructs policies that govern our relations with other
nations, and how it selects the people who will set policy for the
many departments and agencies that affect our domestic economy.
The person who controls the Executive Branch has all of that power,
to use or abuse as they see fit.

Someone who wants that power badly enough, who has the resources
to influence the election by fair and/or unfair means, can change
history for good or ill. And if they are willing to ignore, subvert,
or circumvent the Constitutional limitations on the Executive Branch,
their power is virtually unlimited.

The framers of the Constitution knew what they were doing when
they wrote in those limits and carefully dispersed power among three
branches of government - they were well aware of the temptations
and dangers of concentrated power. Even a very well-intentioned,
altruistic individual can easily slip into the error of believing
that it's alright to impose their own beliefs about what will benefit
others. And no one is exempt from the temptation to act to their
own benefit - that temptation is a perennial part of human nature!

"The real agenda" is probably more complex than it appears. Indeed,
in this particular area I really hope that I'm wrong, because their
agenda appears (at least from the results of their actions) to be
unbridled profits and power for those who control large corporations
and businesses. They have eliminated many regulations, and refused
to enforce others, designed to protect workers, consumers, and the
environment, because those regulations limited business' ability
to generate profits and/or pay huge salaries, bonuses, and dividends
to executives, board members, and major shareholders.

They have awarded hugely valuable and profitable no-bid contracts
to companies controlled by their friends and associates, and declined
to monitor the contractors for waste and fraud, so that billions
of taxpayer dollars have gone missing. They have encouraged the
"race to the bottom" for American workers' job security, benefits,
and pay, in order to improve corporate profit margins and, if that
proves insufficient, they enable Americans who control businesses
to move the businesses overseas and eliminate American jobs, while
sheltering their profits from American taxes.

They have ignored the needs of America's decaying physical infrastructure,
the pain of Americans displaced and marginalized by the globalizing
economy, and the damage to the very air, land, and water that support
life, in order to cut taxes for Americans who control business and
corporate interests, and protect their vast wealth.

To maintain their hold on the power that allows them to do these
things, they have also pandered shamelessly to the ideological fantasies
of a narrow but influential segment of extreme social conservatives,
engaged in brazen and repulsive propaganda initiatives, and used
those same powers to block legitimate enquiries into the activities
of Executive Branch staff and appointees.

In short, Auntie's opinion about "the real agenda" is that it
is comparable to that of the average pickpocket: to distract the
victims while relieving them of their valuables, to the profit of
the pickpocket.

As for "who," it should be obvious "who" is behind the effort
to win (by any means) executive power: those who have benefited
in the greatest tangible ways from the control of that power. Those
who have increased their own wealth, power, and influence at the
expense of the well-being and prosperity of the average American
worker. Those who have entrenched themselves behind that power by
shamelessly ignoring or subverting Constitutional limitations and
requirements for dispersal and separation of power.

Do political discusions discombobulate you? Are you a liberal at
a loss for words when those darned dittoheads babble their talking
points at you? Or a conservative, who just can't understand those
pesky liberals and their silliness? Auntie Pinko has an answer for
everything.

Just send e-mail to: mail@democraticunderground.com,
and make sure it says "A question for Auntie Pinko" in
the subject line. Please include your name and hometown.